Will this cross-over thing ever end? Apparently not, as yet another Korean actor is working abroad. Lee Da Hae has just been confirmed as the lead for the upcoming modern C-drama called Love Actually. Her co-stars are none other than Koala faves Joe Cheng and Li Yi Feng. So Feng Feng has played the younger brother to Mike He already in Sunny Happiness, and now he gets to play the younger brother to Mike’s BFF Joe? Too bad he can’t play Ethan Ruan‘s younger brother soon and land him all three guys. I think this cast is fabulous. Not exactly heavy on the thespians, but all decent in the right roles, and pretty sparkling in rom-coms. LA starts filming next month, and my guess is it will air in the latter half of 2012. I don’t know if Lee Da Hae will be dubbed, because she speaks very good Chinese, albeit with a strong Korean accent. Read on for the plot synopsis.
Lee Da Hae is Wang Xiao Xia, a naturally talented chef who works part-time jobs to scrape by as she supports her nephew Yang Guang. Due to a mistake by the real estate agent Chen Hao Jie (Li Yi Feng), Xiao Xia gets swindled by her landlord, leaving her homeless. With nowhere to go, Hao Jie takes Xiao Xia back to his house for the time being. Turns out the Chen family owns a very prominent restaurant chain. Through a series of misunderstandings, Xiao Xia is mistaken as Hao Jie’s girlfriend. But their odd behavior leaves the other Chen son Hao Feng suspicious of the real relationship.
Daddy Chen immediately takes a liking to Xiao Xia, so even after Xiao Xia’s real identity is revealed, she doesn’t get kicked out, and is instead being groomed as the successor chef. The personalities of Xiao Xia and Hao Feng are like water and fire, and they constantly bicker. After going through a series of situations together, they gradually grow closer and start to have warm feelings for each other. Hao Feng’s ex-girlfriend tries to create a wedge between the couple by manufacturing a series of misunderstandings. A cousin of the Chen family returns and plots to take over the family business. But with Xiao Xia’s perseverance and faith, the Chen family overcomes this ordeal, and Xiao Xia and Hao Feng finally have their happy ending together.
When I read this synopsis, clearly it sounds like every other modern C and TW drama spliced together. Wealthy brothers, a spunky ordinary girl gamely taking care of family, a setting like a restaurant business where everyone interacts, all of this is been there, done that. But if SH taught me anything, it’s that a well-written relationship between the OTP plus great chemistry from the actors can still deliver the satisfaction despite a well-worn story. I’m looking forward to LA, and wishing best of luck to Lee Da Hae in her first C-drama. Initially when the casting rumors came out, Yuan Hong was also bandied about as one of the leads. Putting Joe, Feng Feng, and Lao Yuan together in a drama would have blown my mind. Regardless, the final cast is pretty awesome as is.
excited to see Li Yi Feng on another drama.
at least she can speak mandarin
she gets way too much hate internationally
i hope china shows her some love and helps re build he image
Good Luck LDH!
and Joe Cheng (i call dibs)
I really like Lee Da Hae!! Why does she get hate internationally? I already read on other blogs that alot of ppl hate her but no one says why :S
Like both leads btw. I’d watch it if her voice isn’t dubbed
yes..many hates her bcoz she insulted how filipino speak in english…i hate her very much..and also i like ariel lin as joe cheng’s couple and wife in real life!!ilike ISWAK,TKA,LOB 4ever!!xianqin and zhishu 4 ever ariel lin and joe cheng 4 ever..she apologized of insulting filipinos but no one can erase that thing in our mind and heart.filipino is the no1 emotional..do u know it lee da hae how u really hurts filipino?
So excited for the drama, the cast is just great. LDH is my girl crush and I love Joe Cheng. I didn’t see any of Li Yi Feng previous work but read great comments about him 🙂
Although it will be surely hard for her but I hope Lee Da Hae voice won’t be dubbed. As I think it would be more cute and funny with her voice in there ^_^
Don’t C-Dramas always dub anyway? Even the native speakers? At least, all the ones I’ve seen have (I don’t understand…why???).
the main reason why they dub is because usually the native speakers have a too strong accent and the non-native have a completely different accent. they dub the voices to get a medium accent that sounds “pleasant” to the viewer’s ears
I’m so excited for this drama :)! Will you be recapping this? Thank you for the news!
Drama sure has an unfortunate title…well who knows….this might even work in its favor….the plot sounds simplistic and typical c-dramaish…as for the cast…i love Joe, am indifferent to LYF and not crazy abt LDH….so idk if i’ll check this out….that said i’ve done crazier things for favorite stars i’ve missed, so who knows….and I do miss Joe
The plot sounds ok to me, if distinctly unoriginal, but the only part I hate is the “meddling ex-girlfriend” bit. I hate hate hate that plot trope, not just because it’s infuriating, but because it’s lazy writing.
Mmm… The plot sounds typical but I will watch it for Lee Da Hae (I absolutely loved her in “My Girl ” and I am very impressed by her Mandarin), Joe Cheng (loved him in “It Started with a Kiss”) and Li Yi Feng (loved him in “Sunny Happiness”)!! So far the cast is very interesting.
Joe getting handsome and handsome these days…♥
YaY! I was sooooo waiting for Joe to comeback with a new drama! Yay! XD
Native mainland china chinese have very strong accent and not every one could understand. I personally prefer taiwanese chinese they speak very refine chinese thats why most of the korean dramas are taiwanese dubbed not china dubbed.
As for LDH definitely her voice will be dubbed as well not unless she could speak perfect chinese but i doubt so….
The primary thing I got out of this was: JOE IS IN A NEW DRAMA!!
And then…LDH? That’s an interesting choice for a Chinese lead. And yea, even if she speaks decent Mandarin I’m guessing all the voices will be dubbed. And what is up with LYF playing brother roles that never get the girl? Typecasted much? I lol’ed at your remark about him being cast as Ethan’s little bro to make it a complete set.
it would have been better if they got kim tae hee or yoon eun hye. why lee dae hee????????
because she’s a more talented actress than yoon eun hye, kim tae hee jang nara and she can speak chinese……………………………
I agree why LDH” Anyone, but her…This is one C-Drama I will not be watching. LDH cannot act.
I think im the only one that doesnt like yoon eun hye….skip a lot of drama cuz of her
Is that y ppl don’t like her? But I find her acting pretty good (& much better than many actrices) Just wondering if that is the main reason or if there was any other reason :S
I agree with Annie not liking Yoon Eun Hye too much… Well I don’t hate her, I wouldn’t skip a drama only bcuz she’s in, but I’m not too crazy about her as other ppl. I don’t find her acting abilities better than Lee Da Hae, like I can’t judge which one’s better but I don’t think either outshines the other in terms of acting abilities 😛
Well that’s just my opinion 😉 I hope ppl will give actors the chances to improve themselves b4 skipping all their dramas (Not that I don’t skip dramas bcuz of actors, but I don’t say which actors I skip their drama to not negatively influence ppl’s opinion on actors) no matter what we think of them, they work hard to get an end result
@Annie, huwattt??? Why you dont like Yoon Eun Hye, the only reason I see is you’re intimidated by her beauty and talent. She can act, sing and dance; plus she’s very sexy. Asia is so crazy about her and we dont miss any of her drama; all her dramas are sold out in different parts of Asia, I think even in US,SouthAmerica,Europe &Middle East. You should try watching YEH’s drama, it might change your view on her. Actually, I have so much wanted Joe Cheng to collaborate with Yoon Eun Hye. They’re my most favorite actor/actress here in Asia.
i wish they think it over again , jang na ra would be a good choice also
Hm, I think LDH should take older characters. She isn’t looking like early 20s anymore while Joe Cheng still is a Baby face.
Let’s see…maybe they will work fine together.
I can never understand why LDH is hated after being loved in My Girl. I suppose fans are fickle minded. It’s easy to hide behind the computer to criticize and to say hateful things about whichever artist they don’t like. Judge not least you be judged. I will always support LDH for her work and for being who she is.
I dropped My Girl because of her, so I never liked her. 😀
why why why why why why why????????????????
torture
What I dislike about watching Mainland Dramas (C-dramas) is the voice dubbing of the actors. When the actors interaction with each other in a scene with backgound music playing. You can hardly hear what they are saying. Thus, the background music is louder than the actors voices as they speak to each other in MANDARIN. I perfer watching Taiwanese dramas and Hong Kong dramas. I would watch a C-drama (Taiwan Version).
You can say that again… Plus the dubbed voices have no feelings and compassion… Sounds like they just want to get the words out as fast as they can… If a recognizable actor/actress voice is dubbed, then the end result is so disappointing. Don’t like to watch dramas made in China, esp. If partnered with Taiwan… invariably they would dub the well-known actor’s voice. AND, please NO background music while they are talking. Hello, anybody listening?
Is there a reason why Koreans are doing more Chinese dramas? Are they paying more for these actors?
wow！ I Totally Love LDH……<3
I will continue to support Joe. He is attractive when he doesn’t open his mouth.
wow so many haters, i love LDH, i cant wait for it. If Yuan Hong is in the drama too than it is heaven 😛
im so sorry for saying that to LDH!!i wishthis series will have a good story and many people will like it..im so sori!go joe and go LDH ariel lin and joe cheng still love u!i only say that coz it really hurts wen somebody insults u…
The reason why many people hate her is due to a variety program where she was asked to speak english using various differerent accents from different countries (US, UK and Philipines). She offended many filiponos as it seemed she was mocking them and was thus called a racist (she had to officailly apologise)
Additionally, she has pulled out of a few projects (East of Eden, and a film that had financial issues) and has been labelled a bit of a diva/unprofessional. BUT you know what? I don’t care as she’s AWESOME. I personally enjoy her acting, and if you ever watch some of her interviews/variety guest appearances, she is extremely funny. Plus she’s gorgeous as hell. More love to LDH
Thx for the info 😉 I think it might have been a misunderstanding and as long as she apologized then, don’t see y hate her so much. I like her alot too 🙂
OH I REALLY LIKE LEE DA HAE SOO MUCH THOSE PEOPLE WHO HATE HER ARE BRAIN WASHED PEPOLE SO STUPID.SHE HAD ALREADY APOLOGIZED FOR THAT MISTAKE .AND EVERY BODY DOES THE MISTAKE WE NEED TO FORGIVE THEM .THOUGH THAT HATER PEOLE WILL FORGIVE HER OR NOT BUT HEAVENLY FATHER WILL FORGIVE HER .AMEN. LEE DA HAE FITTY
i cant wait to see some of my favorites actors and my favorite korean actress lee da hae.
In Cambodia we really like LDH, so i don know why people always hate suck a beautiful and great actress like her. I never missed her drama from Green rose Until ……
And this one drama i will watch it for sure!!!
Dahae Fighting! Fighting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Am an ardent fan of LDH ever since GR and MG.. I’m a Filipino, and i admit that i’m one of those people who got offended after the “accent issue”, yet i still love her despite of that! I know somehow that, that was unintended! Besides, it’s not that true (about the filipino accent)! Anyway, LDH fighting!!
no need a reason to hate someone, just ‘hate’, i love LDH, i love her smile, she’s a strong n tuff girl according to all rumour bout her….let the dog bark…just go on tuff girl ..!!
I like wacth leeda hae my favorite aktress my girl and miss ripley amazing…
I like lee da hae very mauch my girl and miss ripley my favorit drama
Lee da hae she is good actress.the best….. fighting
Excited for this series..Lee Da Hae is one of my FAVORITE Korean Actress, while Joe Cheng is one of my FAVORITE Taiwanese Actor, I LOVE My Girl, Green Rose & Hello Miss of Lee Da Hae, and It Started with a Kiss & They Kiss Again of Joe Cheng.
But still, Lee Dong Wook was still the best pair for Lee Da Hae, and Ariel Lin for Joe Cheng.
To be honest,guys. I dislike Lee Dae Hae. Maybe,I am a bit insecure or I am really insecure because I am a crazy fan of Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin and I easily get hurt seing them with another co-actors/co-actress. I get mad,I get jealous easily,also. Tsss. No HATE!